1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to webs with adjustable openings and to a method of making the same, and more specifically to a garment with a conformable body part opening and to a method of making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,189 to G. A. Romanek discloses a nonwoven textile fabric laminate comprising an inner layer of generally elastic material of inherent resilience, on at least one side of which is superposed an outer layer comprising a generally inelastic nonwoven textile fabric comprising a plurality of generally coherent nonwoven fibers. The nonwoven textile fabric is extensible from a relaxed position to a point beyond its elastic limit and is incapable of self-induced retraction to its original relaxed condition upon release of the tensioning force. The respective elastic and nonwoven layers are needle-punchingly secured together at spaced-apart locations by nonwoven fibers of the fabric which extend through the inner elastic layer at the securement locations when the inner and outer layers are stretched with the elastic layer within its elastic limit and the nonwoven layer beyond its elastic limit. The first outer layer thus exhibits increased bulk between the securement locations when the inner layer retracts to its relaxed condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,912,565 to W. T. Koch, et al. describes a method of preparing a shirred, elastic, flexible article by attaching to a sheet material a thin layer of flexible polyurethane material which is heat-shrinkable in only one direction, followed by heating the polyurethane layer to shrink and shirr the sheet material attached thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,331,728 discloses a perforate film-fiber laminate for the use of wound dressings and the like. The laminate is prepared of thin flexible film adhered to a pervious substrate, with the film having openings therein immediately overlying openings in the substrate. A fiber substrate, including woven and nonwoven fabrics, containing pre-formed openings passing directly therethrough may advantageously be coated with a freshly extruded thermoplastic film, e.g., polyethylene, which is simultaneously perforated and adhered to the surface by drawing a sufficiently high vacuum on the surface opposite to that to which the film has been applied, sufficient to burst the film, while still highly plastic, in areas immediately over the openings in the fiber substrate.
European Patent Application No. 102,245 of I. S. Ness discloses an extensible elastic composite with elastic recovery formed by intermittently securing an elastic member to a substrate which prior to initial stretching is less easily extensible than the elastic member. More specifically, this reference discloses an elastic composite for disposable diapers, comprising a reticulated elastic layer bonded between EVA coated less extensible plastic films.